Singing Duo 8th Day Performs in Israel for the First Time

Jewish singing duo 8th Day, co-founded by brothers Shmuel and Bentzi Marcus, was in Israel for the first time last week.

By Elad Benari & Yoni Kempinski

First Publish: 10/11/2012, 8:54 AM

8th day

Yoni Kempinski

Jewish singing duo 8th Day was in Israel for the first time last week. The duo’s last hit, “Ya'alili”, was rated one of the top videos in Israel, the U.S. and Australia. The song’s clip on YouTube had more than 1.5 million views.

8th Day was co-founded by brothers Shmuel and Bentzi Marcus and is quickly becoming one of Jewish music's hottest new bands. The group has released three studio albums that get air play on the radio in New York and Israel.

8th Day's fresh and unique sound is complimented by their catchy lyrics (mostly English with some Hebrew and Yiddish mixed in) and their spirited vocal harmonies.

The band appeared at the 8th Annual Sukkot Extravaganza in Jerusalem, a concert for the benefit of United Hatzalah of Israel. Arutz Sheva met with Shmuel and Bentzi Marcus on the sidelines of the concert.

“It’s the first time 8th Day has come to Israel, and a lot of people stopped us on the street,” said Shmuel Marcus. “It’s great to be with our brothers and sisters in Yerushalayim. It’s amazing.”

As for their last hit, “Ya'alili”, Bentzi Marcus said the song “was a total accident. It’s just a fun song that we wrote, almost as a joke, and it just took off like we’d never imagined.”

8th Day started when the brothers, one of whom is a guitar player and the other is a songwriter, decided to write songs together. Eventually they wrote a whole album’s worth and then went into a studio to record it.

They said that being brothers is an advantage. “We get to see each other at family functions and talk about the band,” said Shmuel. “We each know what the other is thinking.”